This law firm would be headquartered in a once-wonderful but deteriorated row building. Our challenge was to create an office featuring areas that foster community and connection between staff members, a particular goal of this firm, along with areas that are more private and secluded, for quiet research and study.
    Privacy is relatively simple to solve with doors and walls. Community, particularly in a three-story building, in which each person could easily be sequestered in their own world, would be much harder to achieve. Thoughtful architecture could contribute to the solution.
    We created a "center"—a light-filled common space at the middle of the three floors, that invited constant traffic throughout the day. This was encouraged by the factors that we understand as architects: practicality and aesthetics. Two functions placed at this mid-level were critical to bringing people together: the most venerated, the partners' offices; and the most mundane, the kitchen. Access and coffee. No place in the office would be more than one level from these, and this center was the most elaborated, brightest space in the offices.

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